Approximately 50 community members attended our February 3 education program. The program was a collaboration with The Documentation Project, a local citizens group working to document recent cuts to funding sources for McLean County programs, and the impact on people served. This was the second of these programs to create community awareness. We hope to collaborate again for a third program in the late summer or fall.
Michael Doherty, ag economist and consultant, provided a comprehensive look at how area farmers are experiencing the current situation, covering a wide range of problems including tariffs, loss of exports to China, increased costs, and more. An area farmer and a local Farm Bureau representative attended and contributed to a "real world" description of farmer challenges. The conversation helped us sort out and understand issues and conditions unique to the current administration.
Rebecca Kinsey, Community School Supervisor with The Baby Fold, discussed the Community Schools initiative that served Unit 5 Fairview Elementary and Cedar Ridge Elementary until its abrupt loss of funding notice. She told the story of this loss midway through a $5 million 5-year grant to provide after-school enrichment, family engagement, and other efforts to achieve long-term academic success and well-being to at-risk families.
Photos, from left: Rebecca Kinsey, Camille Taylor of LWV and The Documentation Project with facilitator Laurie Bergner, Michael Doherty